Flexible Metatarsal Guard

ABSTRACT

A metatarsal guard is provided which is adapted to have improved flexibility while maintaining adequate protection for the metatarsal region of a user&#39;s foot. The guard may include a flexible section spanning the width of the guard in a medial-lateral direction and comprising a pattern of perforations extending entirely or partway through the thickness of the metatarsal guard. In some aspects, the pattern of perforations may allow for expansion along the medial and lateral edges of the guard, while resisting deformation caused by outside impact.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/747,766 filed Oct. 19, 2018, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention relate, in general, to protectiondevices for use in shoes, and specifically to metatarsal or otherprotection devices for shielding a user's foot from injury. Protectiondevices for use in shielding other areas of a user's foot, otherportions of the body, or in alternate applications beyond bodilyprotection are also contemplated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protection devices for shielding the metatarsal area of the foot frominjury are widely used in various sectors of the footwear industry.Typically, these protection devices are referred to as metatarsalguards, and may be employed as an external guard or integrated into theshoe itself (e.g., an internal guard). Common scenarios in which suchmetatarsal guards may be necessary are in construction applications, inmining, or in other like fields where the foot may be susceptible toinjury due to impact with extraneous objects (e.g., falling rocks,lumber, puncture via nails, etc.) In some cases, while theaforementioned metatarsal guard(s) may provide adequate protection frominjury, such guard(s) may restrict comfortable movement of the foot dueto the rigidity of the guard(s). Other deficiencies not noted here alsoexist.

Beyond protection of the metatarsal area of the foot, other sensitiveareas that are susceptible to injury may also require shielding. Forexample, it may be the case that the foot, in certain scenarios,requires side or heel protection instead of, or in combination with,metatarsal protection. It is not uncommon to provide such protectivedevices on the side or heel region of a shoe in order to provideshielding. Even these protective mechanisms, however, may suffer fromseveral defects and therefore lack comfort in use. For example, someprotective devices are unnecessarily rigid and, thereby, do notadequately absorb the shock resulting from an impact or other injuringevent. Stated differently, since such protective devices are undulyrigid, force generated from an impact can travel through the device andbe translated to the user, resulting in injury to the user from theimpact. Such rigidity also decreases comfort, and sometimes results inthe protective device being overly heavy. This may also be the case forseveral of the metatarsal protection devices noted above.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A metatarsal guard according to the present technology is adapted toprovide improved flexibility while maintaining adequate protection forthe metatarsal region of a user's foot. In some aspects, the guard mayinclude a flexible section spanning the width of the guard in amedial-lateral direction and comprising a pattern of perforationsextending entirely through the thickness of the metatarsal guard.

In one embodiment, a wearable protective device, such as a metatarsalguard, according to the present technology comprises: a bottom surfaceconfigured to be positioned adjacent a surface of a user's body and anopposing top surface; a flexible section comprising a pattern ofperforations spanning a width of the wearable protective device; a firstperforation-free section; a second perforation-free section; wherein theflexible section is disposed between the first perforation-free sectionand the second perforation-free section in a length direction of thewearable protective device.

In some embodiments, the flexible section of the wearable protectivedevice further comprises: a first expansion region disposed in a medialregion of the wearable protective device, comprising one or moreperforations extending through a medial edge of the wearable protectivedevice; a second expansion region disposed in a lateral region of thewearable protective device, comprising one or more perforationsextending through a lateral edge of the wearable protective device; anda contraction region disposed between the first and second expansionregions in a width direction of the protective device comprising one ormore perforations.

In some embodiments, the first and second expansion regions areconfigured to allow for expansion of medial and lateral edges of thewearable protective device when pressure is applied to the bottomsurface of the wearable protective device and the contraction region isconfigured to contract when pressure is applied to the bottom surface ofthe wearable protective device. In addition, at least one of theperforations extending through the medial edge of the wearableprotective device and at least one of the perforations extending throughthe lateral edge of the wearable protective device may each comprise twocorners which are configured to engage with one another when pressure isapplied to the top surface of the wearable protective device.

In use, the metatarsal guard may be positioned within a shoe 100,similar to shoe shown in FIG. 1, and may act to protect the metatarsalarea of a user's foot from falling objects or other impact events, whilepreserving flexibility and comfort for a wearer throughout naturalflexion of the foot during a stride.

Accordingly, some aspects of the technology may include a shoe,comprising: an outsole; an upper comprising an internal surfaceconfigured to receive a user's foot and an opposing external surface;and a wearable protective device comprising: a bottom surface configuredto be positioned adjacent a surface of a user's body and an opposing topsurface; a flexible section comprising a pattern of perforationsspanning a width of the wearable protective device; a firstperforation-free section; a second perforation-free section; wherein theflexible section is disposed between the first perforation-free sectionand the second perforation-free section in a length direction of thewearable protective device.

In some embodiments, the wearable protective device may be an externalmetatarsal guard, while in others it may be an internal metatarsalguard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe incorporating the metatarsalguard according to an aspect of the present technology.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a metatarsal guard according to anembodiment of the present technology.

FIG. 2B is a top view of a metatarsal guard according to an embodimentof the present technology.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an expansion region of a metatarsalguard, in an expanded position, according to an embodiment of thepresent technology.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of an expansion region of a metatarsalguard, in a contracted or closed position, according to an embodiment ofthe present technology.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a metatarsal guard according to an embodimentof the present technology.

FIG. 4B is a top view of a metatarsal guard according to an embodimentof the present technology.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a metatarsal guard according to anembodiment of the present technology.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a metatarsal guard according to an embodiment ofthe present technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In describing aspects of the present invention(s), specific terminologywill be used for the sake of clarity. However, the invention(s) is notintended to be limited to any specific terms used herein, and it is tobe understood that each specific term includes all technicalequivalents, which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similarpurpose.

As used in the present application, “length” means the longest dimensionof any object or shape. As used in the present application, “width”means the shortest dimension of any object or shape existing in the sameplane as the length. “Thickness” means the remaining dimension of athree-dimensional object which is not the length or the width. As usedin the present application, “medial” means at, towards, near, orrelating to the midline of the human body, i.e. as applied to a shoe asit would be oriented when it is situated on the foot of a wearer. Asused in the present application, “lateral” means at, towards, near, orrelating to the edge of an object, particularly an edge or end which isaway from or opposite the midline (medial region) of the human body.When the terms “medial” and “lateral” are applied to a shoe or otherwearable object, they describe portions of the object as they would beoriented when worn by a wearer. As used in the present application,“perforation” means a depression, cut-out, indentation, hole, or thelike, extending entirely through or partway through the thickness of amaterial or object.

Metatarsal Guard

As shown in FIGS. 2A-B, a metatarsal guard 200 according to oneembodiment of the present technology is shown, in which the guard isadapted to provide improved flexibility while maintaining adequateprotection for the metatarsal region of a user's foot. Guard 200comprises a top surface 202 and a bottom surface 204. As shown furtherin FIG. 2A, metatarsal guard 200 may be anatomically contoured toconform to the shape of the foot. In particular, the guard 200, whichmay be situated against the foot during use, may be convexly shaped inthe medial-lateral direction 210, and concavely shaped in thelongitudinal 220 direction. Thus, bottom surface 204 of guard 200 mayconform to the metatarsal region of a user's foot.

As shown in FIGS. 2A-B and 4A-B, in a preferred embodiment, themetatarsal guard 200 may be generally oval or oblong shaped. However,the shape of the guard is not particularly limited and may be circular,rectangular, square, polygonal, polygonal with rounded edges, T-shaped,cross-shaped (as are guards 500 and 600, shown in FIGS. 5-6), or in anyother shape which allows it to cover and conform to the metatarsalregion of a wearer's foot. As depicted in FIGS. 5-6, a cross-shapedconfiguration of a guard is particularly advantageous in that it mayreduce the amount of material used in the guard, while still providingprotection by covering the majority of the area of the foot which isvulnerable to impacts from above. Such a cross-shaped configuration maythereby reduce production costs as well as minimize the weight andprofile of the guard in order to provide a safe, light-weight,streamlined, and aesthetically pleasing product to the wearer. In thisregard, a cross-shaped configuration is especially preferred for use asan internal metatarsal guard.

The guard may be ideally formed from a material or material blend whichis light-weight and flexible, while maintaining rigidity upon impact.Exemplary materials include but are not limited to rubber, elastomer,nylon, polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and anycombination thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the guard comprises TPU.In some embodiments, the guard may additionally comprise a nonwovenmaterial, particularly on the surface of the guard, in order tofacilitate bonding and to provide reduction of noise caused by anycontacting surfaces of the guard. The thickness of the guard may be inthe range of about 1 mm to about 5 mm, more preferably in the range ofabout 2 mm to about 5 mm, and even more preferably in the range of about3 mm to about 5 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the thickness of theguard is about 4 mm.

In some aspects, as exemplified in FIGS. 2A-B, the guard may include aflexible section 230 spanning the width of the guard 200 in amedial-lateral direction and comprising a pattern 240 of perforationsextending entirely through the thickness of the metatarsal guard 200.The pattern 240 of perforations may include two regions 250, 252configured for expansion along the medial and lateral edges of the guardrespectively and a section 260 configured for contraction disposedbetween the laterally situated expansion regions.

Flexible Section

In some embodiments, as exemplified in FIGS. 2A-B, the flexible section230 of the guard 200 is configured to allow for normal movement of thefoot within the shoe during a stride, while maintaining rigidity againstimpact from the outside of the shoe, most particularly from fallingobjects from above. The flexible section may comprise a pattern 240 ofperforations, which allow for an increase in the degree of longitudinalconcavity of the guard 200 when pressure is applied along the bottomsurface 204 of the guard 200, e.g. during dorsiflexion of the footduring a stride. The perforations may be generally linear, zig-zagged,or curved in shape. The pattern may comprise a single row ofperforations, 2 to 3 rows of perforations, 2 to 4 rows of perforations,or greater than four rows of perforations. In a preferred embodiment,the pattern has 3 rows of perforations. In some embodiments, theperforations in adjacent rows may be in line with one another, while insome embodiments the perforations in adjacent rows may be offset fromone another, e.g. in a staggered configuration. In a preferredembodiment, the perforations in adjacent rows are in a staggeredconfiguration. The perforations in some rows may have a different shapefrom the perforations in other rows. In a preferred embodiment having 3rows, the perforations of the outer two rows may have a curved orzig-zag shape, while the perforations of the center row (disposedbetween the outer two rows) may have a generally linear shape.

The flexible section 230 may span the width of the guard, running fromthe medial edge to the opposing lateral edge. The flexible section mayhave a width which may be in the range of about 10% to about 50% of thelength of the guard, more preferably about 20% to about 40% of thelength of the guard and is most preferably about 30% of the length ofthe guard, with the perforation-free sections 232 and 234 making up theremainder of the length of the guard. In some aspects, the flexiblesection 230 may be situated in a central region of the guard, sandwichedbetween a top section 232 towards the collar of the shoe and a bottomsection 234 towards the toe of the shoe, which are free fromperforations. It is particularly advantageous to include a top 232 andbottom 234 section free from perforations in order to ensure the guardbends easily and readily at the flexible section in order to allow freemovement of the wearer. During use, perforation-free sections 232 and234 may act as moment arms to the axis created by the flexible section.Therefore, it is advantageous for the width of the flexible section tobe within the disclosed preferred ranges in order to providesufficiently long, rigid moment arms 232, 234 to allow for easy andcomfortable bending of the flexible section during the wearer's strideor other dorsiflexion of the foot. In addition, perforation-freesections 232, 234 may help the guard 200 to retain its shape and toprovide increased protection relative to a guard which does not containsuch perforation-free sections.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2A-B, the perforations of thepattern 240 of perforations may extend entirely through the thickness ofthe guard 200. In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 4A-B, one or moreof the perforations of the pattern 440 of perforations may extend onlypartway through the thickness of the guard.

Expansion Regions

In some embodiments, as exemplified in FIGS. 2A-B, the pattern ofperforations of the guard 200 may include two regions 250, 252configured for expansion which lie along the medial 250 and lateral 252edges of the guard, respectively. Each expansion region 250, 252comprises a plurality of perforations 254 which extend up to and throughthe medial and lateral edges of the guard, such that gaps 256 are formedalong the edges of the guard between top and bottom corners 258 a, 258b. In a preferred embodiment, the perforations 254 of the medialexpansion region 250 and the perforations 254 of the lateral expansionregion 252 have a zig-zag shape and are mirror images of one another. Insuch an embodiment, each of the medial and lateral expansion regions250, 252 may contain two perforations 254 extending through the edges ofthe guard.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when pressure is applied to the bottom surface 204of the guard 200, i.e. during dorsiflexion of the foot of a wearer, thetop and bottom corners 258 a, 258 b move apart, and the gaps 256 alongthe edges of the guard 200 expand. Such expansion allows the degree oflongitudinal concavity of the guard 200 to increase and the top andbottom sections 232, 234 of the guard 200 to move towards one another.By contrast, in some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3B, when pressure isapplied to the top surface 202 of the guard 200, i.e. during impact froma falling object, the gaps 256 along the edges of the guard 200 willcontract and the degree of longitudinal concavity of the guard 200 willdecrease, until the top and bottom corners 258 a, 258 b contact andengage with one another. Once this occurs, the guard will maintainrigidity and resist further bending or deformation towards a wearer'sfoot.

In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 4A-B, one or more of theperforations 454 of the medial expansion region 450 and of the lateralexpansion region 452 are Y-shaped, such that edges of the perforationrun parallel to each other in a direction from the midline of the guardtowards an outer edge of the guard, before diverging to form top andbottom inner corners 457 a, 457 b. The diverging edges of theperforation extend up to and through the outer edge of the guard to formtop and bottom outer corners 458 a, 458 b, such that outer corners 458a, 458 b are further apart in distance from inner corners 457 a, 457 b.Accordingly, when pressure is applied to the top surface 402 of theguard 400, i.e. during impact from a falling object, the top and bottominner corners 457 a, 457 b will contact and engage with one another, sothat the guard will maintain rigidity and resist further bending ordeformation towards a wearer's foot. Because the top and bottom outercorners 458 a, 458 b are spaced further apart than the inner corners 457a, 457 b, outer corners 458 a, 458 b will remain spaced apart from oneanother and resist contact, while the inner corners engage. This mayprovide advantages such avoiding noise caused by the contact of theouter corners 458 a, 458 b.

Contraction Region

As exemplified in FIGS. 2A-B, the pattern of perforations of the guardmay further include a contraction region 260 situated between the medialand lateral expansion portions 250, 252. The contraction region mayinclude a plurality of perforations 262 which do not extend through theperipheral edges of the guard.

In some embodiments, as exemplified in FIGS. 2A-B, the perforations 262may extend entirely through guard 200. In other embodiments, as shown inFIGS. 4A-B, one or more of the perforations of the pattern 440 ofperforations may extend only partway through the thickness of the guard,such as about 25% to about 90% through the thickness of the guard, morepreferably about 35% to 90% through the thickness of the guard, or mostpreferably about 40% to about 80% through the thickness of the guard.Perforations which extend all the way through the guard may provideadvantages such as allowing for relatively easier bending andcontraction of the region 260, while avoiding flattening of the shape ofthe guard 200. At the same time, perforations which extend only partwaythrough the guard may provide advantages such as increasing strength ofthe guard and resisting deformation caused by impact.

In a preferred embodiment, as exemplified in FIG. 2B, the contractionregion 260 may include three rows of perforations 262, including a topand bottom rows of one or more perforations 262 having zig-zag shapes,and a middle row of linear perforations 262. In some embodiments, theperforations of the contraction region 260 may form a mirror imageacross a longitudinal line and/or across a medial-lateral line.

When pressure is applied to the bottom surface 204 of the guard 200, theedges of perforations 262 may draw together, allowing the degree oflongitudinal concavity of the guard 200 to increase and the top andbottom sections of the guard 232, 234 to move towards one another. Bycontrast, when pressure is applied to the top surface 202 of the guard200, i.e. during impact from a falling object, the perforations of thecontraction region 260 of the guard 200 will maintain rigidity andresist further bending or deformation of the guard 200 towards awearer's foot.

Internal Metatarsal Guard

In use, in some aspects, embodiments of the metatarsal guard 500, 600exemplified in FIGS. 5-6 may be positioned within a shoe to form aninternal guard and may act to protect the metatarsal area of a user'sfoot. In use as an internal guard, the aforementioned embodiments of theinternal metatarsal guard may be situated between outer and inner layersof an upper of a shoe. In particular, in use as an internal guard, themetatarsal guard may be situated beneath a lacing mechanism and in someembodiments may be positioned between outer and inner layers of a tongueportion of a shoe. In such embodiments, the metatarsal guard may extendfrom a toe region of a shoe to a collar region of a shoe, runningbeneath a lacing mechanism. In other embodiments, in which a tongue or alacing mechanism may not be present, the metatarsal guard may besituated in between outer and inner layers of an upper in a vamp regionof the shoe. In some configurations, the flexible region of the guardmay be positioned between the toe region and the collar region in thearea of a user's metatarsophalangeal (MCP) joints, allowing for bendingof the joints during a stride. In some embodiments, the guard mayadditionally include one or more foam or cushioning layers which may besituated to contact a top surface and/or a bottom surface of the guard.Thus, metatarsal guard 500, 600 may be utilized as an internal guard ina shoe to protect a user's foot from falling objects or other impactevents, which would otherwise injure the foot, while also maintainingflexibility of the foot and an unobtrusive and attractive visualprofile.

External Metatarsal Guard

In some aspects, as exemplified in FIGS. 1, 2A-B, 4A-B, the metatarsalguard 200, 400 may be positioned above and overlie a portion of theupper of a shoe 100 to form an external guard 110. For example, FIG. 1depicts a shoe 100 which includes an external metatarsal guard 110according to an embodiment of the invention. Such guard 110 is situatedbetween outer and inner layers of a flap 120 connected to an upper ofthe shoe 100. In some embodiments, a flap such as the flap 120 may beconnected to the upper of the shoe in a toe region, while in otherembodiments, the flap may be connected to the upper in other regions,such as at the collar of the shoe and/or in medial or lateral regions ofthe shoe. In some aspects, the flap may have one point of connection tothe upper, while in alternative embodiments, the flap may have multiplepoints of connection to the upper. In some aspects, one or more of thepoints of connection may be permanent, such as attachment by stitching,glue, or the like. In additional embodiments, one or more of the pointsof attachment may be readily removable or detachable, such as attachmentby lacing, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, buttons, or the like. In anembodiment, the external guard may be readily and entirely detachablefrom the upper of the shoe. In some embodiments, the guard mayadditionally include one or more foam or cushioning layers which may besituated to contact a top surface and/or a bottom surface of the guard110. As shown, flap 120 may be situated over the metatarsal area of auser's foot to provide protection therefor and over a lacing componentfor the shoe 100.

Additional Embodiments

As another example, although the metatarsal protection devices detailedherein are predominantly concave in a longitudinal direction and convexin a medial-lateral direction, other curvatures and shapes arecontemplated. Such alternate curvatures and/or shapes may also lendthemselves to providing protection for other areas of a user's foot, orfor other areas of the body. Indeed, it is contemplated that aspects ofthe aforementioned metatarsal protection devices may be utilized inother areas of a shoe to provide protection for other areas of a user'sfoot, such as, for example, in the heel or side of the shoe. If used forthese purposes, the metatarsal protection devices disclosed herein maybe modified in shape and contour to conform to the area of the footbeing protected.

Likewise, it is contemplated that aspects of the aforementionedprotection devices may be used to protect other areas of a user's body,such as, for example, the knee, elbow, etc. In particular, protectivedevices having the different layers of material and varying patternsdiscussed above may situated within a housing and be adapted to overly asurface of the user's body, such that the applicable device couldprotect the relevant portion of the body from injury. An example of thismay be a knee or elbow guard, which utilizes at least one of theembodiments discussed above for protective purposes. In this manner, auser may be provided with several protective devices that are usable toshield varying portions of the body (e.g., including, but not limitedto, the foot, knee, elbow, etc.)

Although aspects of the invention(s) herein have been described withreference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that theseembodiments are merely illustrative of aspects of the presentinvention(s). It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that otherarrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention(s) as defined by the appended claims.

It will also be appreciated that the various dependent claims and thefeatures set forth therein can be combined in different ways thanpresented in the initial claims. It will also be appreciated that thefeatures described in connection with individual embodiments may beshared with others of the described embodiments.

1. A wearable protective device comprising: a bottom surface configuredto be positioned adjacent a surface of a user's body and an opposing topsurface; a flexible section comprising a pattern of perforationsspanning a width of the wearable protective device; a firstperforation-free section; a second perforation-free section; wherein theflexible section is disposed between the first perforation-free sectionand the second perforation-free section in a length direction of thewearable protective device.
 2. The wearable protective device of claim1, wherein the flexible section has a width extending in a lengthdirection of the guard, and the width of the flexible section is in therange of about 10% to about 50% of a length of the wearable protectivedevice.
 3. The wearable protective device of claim 1, wherein theflexible section has a width extending in a length direction of theguard, and the width of the flexible section is in the range of about20% to about 40% of a length of the wearable protective device.
 4. Thewearable protective device of claim 1, wherein the flexible section isconfigured to allow for bending when pressure is applied to the bottomsurface of the wearable protective device and to resist deformation whenpressure is applied to the top surface of the wearable protectivedevice.
 5. The wearable protective device of claim 4, wherein theflexible section is configured to allow the wearable protective deviceto move along with a surface of a user's body, when pressure is appliedto the bottom surface of the wearable protective device.
 6. The wearableprotective device of claim 1, wherein at least one perforation of thepattern of perforations extends only partway through a thickness of thewearable protective device.
 7. The wearable protective device of claim1, wherein the wearable protective device is convexly shaped in amedial-lateral direction, and concavely shaped in a longitudinaldirection.
 8. The wearable protective device of claim 1, wherein thewearable protective device comprises a material selected from the groupconsisting of rubber, elastomer, nylon, polycarbonate, thermoplasticpolyurethane (TPU), and any combination thereof.
 9. The wearableprotective device of claim 1, wherein the flexible section furthercomprises: a first expansion region disposed in a medial region of thewearable protective device, comprising one or more perforationsextending through a medial edge of the wearable protective device; asecond expansion region disposed in a lateral region of the wearableprotective device, comprising one or more perforations extending througha lateral edge of the wearable protective device; and a contractionregion disposed between the first and second expansion regions in awidth direction of the protective device comprising one or moreperforations.
 10. The wearable protective device of claim 9, wherein theone or more perforations extending through the medial and lateral edgesof the wearable protective device extend entirely through a thickness ofthe wearable protective device.
 11. The wearable protective device ofclaim 9, wherein at least one of the perforations of the contractionregion extends only partway through a thickness of the wearableprotective device.
 12. The wearable protective device of claim 9,wherein the first and second expansion regions are configured to allowfor expansion of medial and lateral edges of the wearable protectivedevice when pressure is applied to the bottom surface of the wearableprotective device and the contraction region is configured to contractwhen pressure is applied to the bottom surface of the wearableprotective device.
 13. The wearable protective device of claim 9,wherein at least one of the perforations extending through the medialedge of the wearable protective device and at least one of theperforations extending through the lateral edge of the wearableprotective device each comprise two corners which are configured toengage with one another when pressure is applied to the top surface ofthe wearable protective device.
 14. The wearable protective device ofclaim 13, wherein the corners are set inwards from an edge of thewearable protective device.
 15. The wearable protective device of claim14, wherein the at least one perforation extending through the medialedge of the wearable protective device and the at least one perforationextending through the lateral edge of the wearable protective device areeach Y-shaped.
 16. A shoe, comprising: an outsole; an upper comprisingan internal surface configured to receive a user's foot and an opposingexternal surface; and a wearable protective device comprising: a bottomsurface configured to be positioned adjacent a surface of a user's bodyand an opposing top surface; a flexible section comprising a pattern ofperforations spanning a width of the wearable protective device; a firstperforation-free section; a second perforation-free section; wherein theflexible section is disposed between the first perforation-free sectionand the second perforation-free section in a length direction of thewearable protective device.
 17. The shoe of claim 16, wherein thewearable protective device is an external metatarsal guard.
 18. The shoeof claim 16, wherein the wearable protective device is an internalmetatarsal guard.
 19. The shoe of claim 17, wherein the externalmetatarsal guard overlies a portion of the external surface of theupper.
 20. The shoe of claim 18, wherein the upper further comprises afirst and second layer and the internal metatarsal guard is positionedbetween the first and second layer.